Columbia
|Registry = NX-02 |owner = United Earth |operator = Starfleet |Status = Active |Datestatus = 2154 |Logo = Columbia mission patch.png }} Columbia (NX-02) was the second United Earth starship that was in service to Starfleet in the latter half of the 22nd century. Columbia was the second ship outfitted with a warp five engine. History Development ]] In the year 2151, Columbia was one of three NX-class starships still in the planning stages, intended for deep space, long-range exploration. ( ) Starfleet Captain A.G. Robinson considered himself a likely candidate to be assigned command of the NX-02, having previously been passed up for captain of the first NX-class ship, , in favor of Captain Jonathan Archer. Robinson, however, later died in a climbing accident on Mount McKinley in of 2153. ( ) At the time of the Xindi attack on Earth, later that same year, the ship was still under construction (and unnamed), but scheduled to be completed and launched by mid-2154. After several delays, it was launched in late November of that year. ( ) Several months before launch, Columbia s commanding officer, Captain Erika Hernandez, invited Captain Jonathan Archer aboard to view construction efforts and to enlist his aid in crew selection. Archer suggested she consider a MACO as tactical officer, and also suggested modifications to the ship, including a larger arsenal with which to defend the ship. ( ) Construction and launch In November of 2154, Columbia was stuck in dry dock with engine trouble, delaying its launch and rendering it unable to assist Enterprise during a hunt for a Romulan drone-ship. ( ) Columbia was still understaffed prior to its launch. Captain Hernandez had twice offered Commander Charles Tucker, chief engineer aboard Enterprise, a position aboard Columbia, which he rejected. Following the Babel Crisis, however, Tucker finally accepted Hernandez's offer and requested a transfer to Columbia to help fulfill that ship's need for experienced officers. ( ) Tucker's work ethic prompted two crew members to unsuccessfully request transfer off the engineering team. However, he was successful in fixing Columbia s engine problems, and the vessel was able to be launched on November 30th, 2154. ( ) Early mission Soon after the launch of Columbia, the ship was called into service to assist Enterprise after that vessel had been sabotaged by Klingon forces. The two craft engaged in hazardous close-quarter maneuvering at warp 5.2, allowing Tucker to be transferred over to fix the problem. Columbia also assisted in recovering Doctor Phlox from Qu'Vat colony, engaging in battle with several Klingon vessels. Following the resolution of that crisis, Tucker transferred back to Enterprise and resumed his duties. ( ) Technical information department]] Compared to NX-class prototype , Columbia possessed advanced polarized hull plating that was improved twelve percent above initial designs. ( ) Columbia also featured ventral and dorsal photonic torpedo launchers as well as pulsed phase cannons (a relatively new technology, at that time). Other improvements included an upgraded navigational deflector, improved computer interface technology and a modified bridge interior, utilizing stations that were tied directly into the primary EPS junction. ( ) Spaceframe and major structural elements of the NX-02, however, were generally identical to that of her predecessor. Personnel Command crew *Commanding officer **Captain Erika Hernandez (2153-) *Chief engineer **Commander Charles Tucker (2154) See also ''Columbia'' personnel | }} Appendices Appearances * ** ** ** ** Background information Translated, the Latin text on the Columbia assignment patch ("Audentes Fortuna Juvat") reads, "Fortune favors the bold." In the final draft script of but not in the final version of that episode, Commander Tucker reckoned, "Won't be too long before the next warp five ship comes along, sets a new record..." At a point when the ship was not yet named, Star Trek fan Anthony Davis of Brentwood, Tennessee, suggested to Rick Berman that the craft be named Columbia, in honor of the crew of a space shuttle which bore the same name. ( ) The selection of this starship's name, mirroring the fact that the second space shuttle was named Columbia, followed on from the ship's NX-class predecessor having been named after space shuttle prototype . The starship Columbia was given its name, by the creators of Star Trek: Enterprise, as a tribute to the crew of the space shuttle Columbia. ("Before Her Time: Decommissioning Enterprise, Part Two: Memorable Voyages", ENT Season 4 Blu-ray special features) This shuttle and its crew were lost when the craft disintegrated, while attempting re-entry into Earth's atmosphere on . Like Star Trek: Enterprise s Columbia assignment patch, the real STS-107 mission insignia featured seven background stars. Stars often represent the number of crew members on NASA mission insignia. Columbia was first mentioned in and seen under construction in . However, neither of those appearances referred to the ship by its name. Columbia was originally to have appeared in an alternate timeline in ENT Season 3 installment , though the parts it played in the episode were eventually rewritten for the Intrepid instead. ("Twilight" audio commentary, ENT Season 3 Blu-ray special features) As it turned out, Columbia was not mentioned by name until , almost a full season after "The Expanse". There was more than one link between Star Trek: Enterprise s Columbia and NASA. "NASA heard that ... the show was naming the second starship ''Columbia, and we got feelers that the astronauts currently onboard space station wanted to record a little 'Godspeed to Columbia,' and, uh, just, it'd be a little fifteen-second thing that we could throw at the beginning of the episode." However, the supportive message was never recorded, because it was too much trouble to go through all the studio approval proceedings and because the corporation lacked enthusiasm for the idea, which clued the ENT writing staff into the fact that the series was about to be cancelled. ("Before Her Time: Decommissioning ''Enterprise, Part Two: Memorable Voyages", ENT Season 4 Blu-ray special features) The CG model for Columbia was a modified version of the NX-01, featuring a larger, more rectangular deflector dish, and a subtle blue tint to its hull (compared to Enterprise s slight red coloration). The bridge of the NX-02 was a redress of that of the NX-01. It featured structural additions, such as four vertical bars of light behind the captain's chair and a computer monitor mounted on vertical metal tubes next to the helm. These were set pieces that had been previously been used in the episode "E²", on the bridge of the "future" Enterprise of that installment. The previously mentioned computer monitor on vertical metal tubes reappeared aboard another "future" Enterprise, in . Columbia s engine room was also a redress of that seen aboard Enterprise, with only minor details added to the bulkheads. Computer consoles aboard Columbia were also different from those aboard Enterprise, in that they included a red, yellow and green color scheme instead of red, yellow and blue. This color scheme matches that seen on computer consoles in Star Trek: The Original Series, an homage to that series and a suggestion of advancement in technology. This was, however, also seen on a "future" Enterprise, when it was used in . Captain Erika Hernandez is the first female starship captain to be seen since the end of Star Trek: Voyager, commanded by Captain Kathryn Janeway. While Hernandez's crew was never fleshed out in an episode, judging from those present on the bridge, it is safe to conclude that no Vulcans were included in the senior staff. Seth MacFarlane (also known as the creator of FOX's Family Guy) appears aboard Columbia as an engineer. He had previously appeared as an engineer aboard Enterprise in , suggesting that his character transferred between the two vessels (that is, if both appearances were intended to be of the same character). Between "Home" and "Affliction", the captain's chair as well as several cosmetic details on the bridge changed, mirroring the change aboard Enterprise between the episodes "Home" and . Despite Captain Hernandez's suggestion to Tucker that he should update his uniform to include the Columbia mission patch, he can be seen wearing an environmental suit bearing the Enterprise logo in "Divergence". As the scene in question focuses on getting Tucker from Columbia to Enterprise, the only explanation is that Tucker must have taken his EV suit with him when he came aboard Columbia (or maybe Columbia just has a stock of Enterprise-patched suits). Columbia was originally to have featured in an ultimately unused story, featuring Colonel Green and written by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens for the fourth season of Star Trek: Enterprise. ( audio commentary, ENT Season 4 Blu-ray special features) Columbia was also to have appeared (exterior only) in ultimately aborted film Star Trek: The Beginning, set in 2159. As portrayed in the first draft script of that film, the ship was undergoing a refit in the San Francisco Fleet Yards Drydock (a facility in orbit of Earth) when a photonic torpedo fired by a landed a direct hit to Columbia s bridge deck, one of the initial attacks in the Earth-Romulan War. The ship was later referred to as having been "severely damaged". Apocrypha According to the non-canon Star Trek: Ships of the Line book, Columbia crashed on a desert planet in the Gamma Quadrant, and remained there for two centuries. It was discovered, intact, several days following the events of , by Ezri Dax and the crew of the USS Aventine. The novel series Star Trek: Destiny is based upon the events surrounding the mysterious destruction of the Columbia and the ship's final resting place. The Columbia also featured heavily in the creation of the Borg Collective. Alternatively, in "Captain's Pleasure", the second issue of IDW's miniseries Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Space Between, it is established in dialog that Columbia survived intact (perhaps at a museum) at least until the year 2296. In that year, a was stolen from it, and was discovered crashed at an archaeological ruins site by Jean-Luc Picard in 2368. External link * de:Columbia es:Columbia (NX-02) fr:Columbia (NX-02) ja:コロンビア(NX-02) nl:Columbia (NX-02) Columbia (NX-02)